Broadcast Journalism Careers in Atlanta

Atlanta is a major cable television programming center and a hub for students interested in careers in Broadcast Journalism. Ted Turner began the Turner Broadcasting System, now merged with Time Warner media empire in Atlanta, where he bought a UHF station that eventually became TBS. Turner established the headquarters of the Cable News Network at CNN Center which later grew into other channels– the Cartoon Network, Boomerang, TNT, Turner South, Turner Classic Movies, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Headline News, and CNN Airport Network. The world's first dedicated 24-hour news channels were BBC World News and CNN.

In 2008, Atlanta became the eighth largest media market in the United States, with more than 2,387,520 households in its metropolitan area. Notable television stations in the greater Atlanta area include Cox Enterprises-owned ABC affiliate (and the city's first TV station) WSB-TV (Channel 2.1), Fox Television's WAGA-TV (Channel 5.1), Gannett Company's NBC affiliate WXIA-TV (Channel 11.1, also known as "11 Alive") and its sister station MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL-TV (Channel 36.1, known as MyAtlTV), the Meredith Corporation's CBS affiliate WGCL-TV (Channel 46.1), and CBS-owned CW station WUPA (Channel 69.1).

Training & Careers

Occupations at large broadcast stations and networks fall into five general categories: Program production, news related, and technical, all of which in turn fall under professional and related, sales, and management occupations. Although on-camera or on-air positions are the most familiar occupations in broadcasting, the majority of employment opportunities are behind the scenes and include: